The controversial statements of filmmaker Adolfo Aristarain, who called for "winning the streets until the government falls" of Javier Milei, continue to cause a stir. The one who was in charge of crossing it now was the Minister of the Interior, Guillermo Francos, who chided him with a phrase from Cristina Kirchner: "Let him put together a party and win the elections."
In an opinion column published in Página 12, under the title "Win the streets until the government falls," the filmmaker had issued harsh criticism against the national executive: "I think they are going to escape in May, after sweeping the country. They are not Pirates, who had no skipper. They're privateers."
"You don't have to give them time. You have to win the street. The CGT strike has to be for an indefinite period of time: until the government falls," Aristarain said.
That's why Francos responded on Saturday. Asked in an interview on Radio Mitre, the interior minister said he "took them the wrong way."
Adolfo Aristarain, the filmmaker who published the controversial column against the government of Javier Milei. Photo: Télam
"I think it's ridiculous. Because it is a coup statement, a statement that is not typical of a man of democracy. Milei is a president who won a month and a half ago with 56% of the vote. Who is Aristarain, isn't it? A film director? Who does it represent?" he asked, with chicane.
"He's a man of the people, but he will have voted against it probably because of his ideas. But then what? Is the 56 percent of Argentines who voted for Javier Milei wrong? So I say that if Aristarain wants to govern, he should do as Cristina Kirchner once said to Javier Milei: 'Build a party,'" he said.
"Well, Milei put together a proposal and won. Aristarain, make a match! Do you want something different? Assemble a party and stand for election. But don't go against the people's decision, do you? Because what he proposes is to go against the decision of the people," Francos concluded.
Aristarain's statements and Stornelli's denunciation
Prosecutor Carlos Stornelli had also gone against Aristarain, but with a complaint for "inciting collective violence against institutions"
The head of the Federal Criminal and Correctional Prosecutor's Office 4 maintained that Aristarain "would have engaged in conduct that instigates the commission of crimes against institutions and incites collective violence also against institutions, in the specific case, to the detriment of the normal performance of a democratically elected government."
In the letter, Stornelli states: "This prosecutor's office understands that such action has exceeded the framework of a mere opinion or protest reached by the guarantee of freedom of expression and the right to petition the authorities."
In this context, the complaint indicates that, "in view of the public nature of the accused, his statements, due to their context and particular tenor, could come to import, through an appropriate means, literally a call, summons or promotion to third parties to disturb tranquility and public order, as well as social peace."
Aristarain had written in his column that Milei officials seek "only to profit and auction off industries, minerals, everything they can, without limit."
He also took aim at Libertarian voters. "Thanks to a pitifully large group of imbeciles, ignoramuses and zombies who once voted for Macri, and now to his buffoon Milei and the whole band of ruffians who accompany them," he said.
Throughout his career, Aristarain's films have won awards such as the Goya Award for Best Spanish-Language Foreign Film for A Place in the World (1992) – which also aspired that year for the Oscar for Best Foreign Film – or Best Adapted Screenplay for Common Places (2002).